Whatcha readin'?

I love books and we highly encourage reading - appropriate for book store owners, right?  When we were younger comic books were not considered appropriate reading material and we couldn't read them for book reports or to satisfy reading requirements.  Times have changed and for the better in my opinion.

There are many children who really benefit from learning to read with comics.  The images are only an aid and many of the stories can be quite engaging.  It's miles away from Dick and Jane and Spot or whatever it was my grade school teachers thought of comics as.  They are so much more.  

Being an artist I have a healthy appreciation for comic book art.  Some of the covers are mind blowing and the interior story boards can portray a ton with just a single image.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  It is definitely true of comics but the story is still an integral part of the experience.  

Personally, I read the off the wall, slightly humorous stories but I do try to keep up with a lot of other characters and storylines.  I like a lot of the independent publishers.

Am I a nerd?  I think we've established this already but I cannot answer all of the Star Wars Trivia questions like some other people I know <cough David>. 

But I digress.  Reading is vital.  What you're reading does matter which is why it's important to monitor the content but finding a story that engages is more than half the battle.  This year local school librarians contacted me to help them acquire books for Free Comic Book Day (May 6th) as well as a group from SEMO University.  These stories do engage young minds.  They help them build their imaginations and in many cases gives budding artists and authors hope for a future.

So, have you read a comic book lately?